The Expenses Never End: From College And Beyond

You would think that life would be just dandy for a newly minted college graduate.
After all, that bachelor’s degree should be a ticket to a well-paying job,
right? This infographic reveals the reality of the situation in the U.S., which
is that half of new graduates are unemployed or underemployed and saddled with
an average student loan debt of $25,250. The average cost of private college is
$119,400 and $33,000 at a public university. Outstanding student loan debt is a
long lasting challenge and hurdle that so many are never able to fully overcome.
In fact, Americans over the age of 60 still owe $36 billion in student loans and
25 percent of all federal student loans are past due. What’s worse is that the
U.S. government may vote to double interest rates and if they vote yes, it will
heap an extra $30 billion on graduates.

Newly minted graduates will ultimately want to purchase a home, drive a reliable car
and get married. All of this is extraordinarily expensive. The average home
mortgage is $240,000 and the average cost of a new car is $30,748. A wedding can
cost upwards of $27,000 and the honeymoon can set you back over $4,000. A child
may come next and raising one to the age of 18 will cost a middle income income
family an average of $226,920.

This well-designed infographic highlights the life and financial times of Mr. Average
Joe. How does your student debt load, if there is any, compare to the average?
Please share!